Top Biden aide Ron Klain expected to leave White House soon

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. —  White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, who has spent more than two years as President Biden’s top aide, is preparing to leave his job in the coming weeks, according to a person familiar with Klain’s plans.

Klain’s expected departure comes not long after the White House and Democrats had a better-than-expected showing in the November election, buoyed by a series of major legislative accomplishments, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a sweeping climate, healthcare and tax package that all Republicans rejected.

The personnel change is a rarity for an administration that has seen minimal turnover. No member of Biden’s Cabinet has stepped down, in stark contrast to the frequent staff turmoil and other crises of former President Trump’s White House.

Klain’s tenure as chief of staff is the longest for a Democratic president in modern times.

The person familiar with Klain’s plans was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, so spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm the development, which was first reported by the New York Times.

The White House did not return calls or emails seeking comment on Klain’s expected exit.

Now that Republicans have regained a majority in the House, the White House is preparing to shift to a more defensive posture. GOP lawmakers are planning multiple investigations into the Biden administration, examining everything from the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to U.S. border policy. Republicans also are pledging to investigate the president’s son Hunter Biden.

Klain’s departure also comes as the White House struggles to contain the fallout after classified documents from Biden’s vice presidency were discovered at his home in Wilmington, Del., and at his former office at an institute in Washington. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate the matter.

Among those on the shortlist to succeed Klain are Steve Richetti, counselor to the president; Labor Secretary Marty Walsh; former White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients; Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack; and Anita Dunn, a White House senior advisor.

Dunn has previously ruled out interest in the job, but if that were to change she could be the first woman in the post. She played a leading role in shaping Biden’s political and communications strategy, including the “ultra-MAGA” framing of Republicans that helped Democrats exceed expectations in the 2022 midterms.

Zients has returned to the White House after running the COVID-19 response team, taking on a low-profile role to ensure the administration is appropriately staffed for the remainder of Biden’s first term.

Richetti, a former lobbyist, was Biden’s final vice presidential chief of staff, following Klain and senior advisor Bruce Reed.

Walsh, who was mayor of Boston before joining the Cabinet, earned praise from Biden as recently as Friday for his job performance.

Vilsack, a former Iowa governor, is in his second stint as Agriculture secretary after serving in the role for the entirety of the Obama administration. He also volunteered for Biden’s ill-fated 1988 presidential campaign in Iowa.

Klain, a longtime Democratic operative, has overseen a West Wing that has been largely free of the high-stakes drama that permeated the upper echelons of the Trump administration. Klain has been an outspoken proponent of Biden’s agenda via Twitter, where he frequently engages with reporters to defend the president’s record.

The Indianapolis native has served under Biden for decades, including as chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Biden was its chairman. Klain also worked on judicial picks in the Clinton White House, helping with Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s Supreme Court nomination.

“With all due respect to my predecessors, I’m sure this is a higher priority for me,” Klain said in an Associated Press interview last month, discussing the importance Biden has put on seating judges on the federal bench. ”The fact that [the president] makes it such a priority, makes it a big priority for me.”

Klain helped lead then-Vice President Al Gore’s legal team during the 2000 election’s Florida vote recount in the race against Republican George W. Bush. Actor Kevin Spacey portrayed Klain in HBO’s “Recount,” a drama chronicling the events that determined the presidency.